I headed out Saturday morning for my weekend trip to Kansas/Missouri. I headed north on Hwy. 169, turned the cruise control on, and cranked up the music. Sunglasses on, atlas on the seat beside me, a cold drink from Sonic, and I was rolling.

I was excited to go meet my friend Scorpy and her husband. Scorpy and I have been commenting on each other's blogs, chatting, and emailing for quite awhile now. She's just the neatest woman to talk to. I'd wanted to meet up with her in New Orleans a few months back, but was unable to make it. This was an opportunity and I didn' t want to miss it.

The directions I had involved connecting to several different highways in the KC area before heading north. My friend Kathy talked me through the loops and turns on my cell phone and I made it safely to St. Joseph, Missouri. I checked into the hotel, called Scorpy, and they picked me up. We ate at a great Cajun food restaurant, ran around town for awhile, saw the local historical sights (including the house where Jesse James was shot!) and headed to a local bar just across the street from my hotel. Her husband Ray kicked my ass played a few games of pool with me, played with her, and we all had a few drinks, talked, laughed, and enjoyed the live band. I stumbled walked back across the street to my hotel. The room was very hot, I stripped down, turned the AC on high, and crashed out on top of the blanket. I woke up to the sound of sirens and I was freezing! I had breakfast with Scorpy and headed back south to K.C.

I tired to retrace the route I'd taken. I ended up going east when I should've gone south and found myself in Kansas City running smack dab into a closed bridge. The detour took me on a scenic route through lovely North Kansas City. I think it was all Kathy's fault, but she probably disagrees!

I met Kathy at her house and we went out to lunch. The Plaza area of Kansas City is full of cool shops and we ate a restaurant there. She also took me to Union Station which is a stunning sight to see. I of course had to place my fingers in the bullet holes from a long-ago shootout. I promised Kathy I wouldn't say anything about the red lights she ran, so I think I'll just leave that part out. We had a blast just running around and touring the city.

I like to travel and I enjoy driving. Thanks to my wonderful and gracious hostesses on my Midwestern weekend tour!

A couple of other notes:

• I have something to add to the post below. Sometimes a teacher's former student finds his blog, comments on his "Sometimes" post, and brings tears to his eyes. I've received thousands of comments on this blog, but I'm not sure one ever touched me as deeply as this one did. Thank you Rosie. I miss you and everyone else from our little school.
• The secrets post should be up sometime tomorrow. I think you'll enjoy!
  

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